Joey | Joey Hodges Writes

A Christmas Fort.

by Joey | Dec 23, 2012 | Throwback

Good morning!

Mr. Husband is home. Yippee!!!!

And he’s home until after New Years! (Do you hear those Angels singing?)

So we’re soaking up this time together.

Funny, we were so looking forward to a quiet Christmas in our own home this year,

but him being gone makes this time even more special.

We could sit around and do nothing all day

which sounded pretty nice to both of us.

But we decided to spice it up a little.

Welcome to our little fort!

We snacked on yummy cheeses and fruit.

And we watched as many Christmas movies as our tired little eyes could.

[that’s 4, by the way]

We’re doing our best to make happy, sweet memories

in this little home before we have to leave it for good.

Christmas: I’m a fan.

There were a lot of years

when I’d get pretty sad at Christmastime no matter how joy filled the days were

because Mr. Husband and I couldn’t be together.

So this year seems like one of those monumental moments

in the history of our relationship.

This is the Christmas I dreamed about

when my sad little twenty year old heart

really missed him.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

**I have to admit that I saw Miss Chelsea’s post and thought: hey that sounds awesome. Thanks for the idea, love! This blogging world, friends. It’s pretty amazing. Find a sweet way to make a memory with your love tonight. If we can all inspire each other to do that, what a sweet thing that is.**

Plans don’t mean anything.

by Joey | Dec 20, 2012 | Throwback

Plans don’t mean anything.

So I’m sitting in a robe. I’m drinking coffee, eating leftover pancakes and catching up on my DVR. I’m half paying attention to the TV. And I happen to look up just when Meredith Grey says, with a smirk on her face: Plans Don’t Mean Anything.

Mr. Husband was never part of my young plan. I know that sounds harsh, but he wasn’t. I had boys I chased. Whose last names I tagged with my first all over my binder. And I have to admit that somewhere deep down inside I knew that if and when I did finally give Mr. Husband the time of day that I was saying goodbye to my youth. To my childish ways of chasing boys. I knew, somehow, that once I dated him, he’d be the last boy I ever dated. But I didn’t plan it that way.

Sometimes, the things that have nothing to do with my plans end up being the best. Our original plan for mid 2011 was to move to Florida. We had places picked out. We had moving plans tentatively set. We put in our notice to our apartment in Athens. And then? Somehow, we ended up in Charlotte. Mr. Husband didn’t get the internship that he was far and away the most qualified candidate for in Tampa. I remember sitting on the trunk of my car in the parking lot of our apartment crying to my best friend because I didn’t want Mr. Husband to see how disappointed I was because I knew he was feeling it too. I remember saying I just didn’t understand. How Mr. Husband deserved that internship. I couldn’t wrap my head around how moving to Charlotte was going to benefit us in any way. Funny how all that worked out. We’ve had the time of our lives here in Charlotte. Mr. Husband worked with a phenomenal staff at a University here which ended up opening the doors to the opportunity he has now. An opportunity that I can’t help but think wouldn’t have been an option had we ended up where we planned to be.

So why is it that I still feel this overwhelming need to plan everything out? Why do I get that twitchy feeling of panic when things threaten to deviate from my master plan? Why can’t I simply let go of my center and just enjoy the ride?

Is there anything that wasn’t a part of your plan

that changed your life?

Silence.

by Joey | Dec 17, 2012 | Throwback

I have nothing important to say.

All I can say is squeeze your little ones.

Hard.

Oh just rambling.

by Joey | Dec 13, 2012 | Throwback

So I’ve been cleaning lately. Not just picking up, but really going through stuff to prep for 1)Mr. Husband’s party on Saturday and 2) our impending move. The more I throw away, the less crap we’ll have to move. Right? Right. [I seem to go through this every time we move…how do we still have anything left]. While doing this, I found a stash of “congrats on your new home” cards. Uh, y’all? It’s appreciated. But you will go broke if you send us one of those every time we move. Holy cow, we move too much.

I went in for a haircut today. Little by little I’m getting brave enough to actually add a style into my cut. That cut two years ago really traumatized me. I saw someone new and they said something to me I’ve never been told: your hair is too thin for that style. Oh, crap. I’ve had thick, and I mean THICK, y’all hair my whole life. I guess that highlighting experience back in March really did thin my hair out. [You know, the one where my hair was literally disintegrating in my hands]. Couldn’t get the cut I wanted, but I think it turned out okay.

[Sorry for the sour puss look. I am jacked up on sudafed]

I’m usually a pretty neat person. Well, no. I’m not. I just pretend to be. If I don’t reel myself in, my house would be a disaster area all the time. The husband used to joke that he could tell what I did when I first got home because I’d leave a trail (of clothes and crap). You probably wouldn’t guess that by walking in my house; it’s usually fairly neat. Well, when the husband’s away…

Shameful, y’all. shameful.

Oh, and by the way. The Avett Brother’s pandora station is the very best to clean the house to. Be warned, though, if you are an emotional basket case like I am these days, you will cry while simultaneously cleaning the house. That Ho Hey song by The Lumineers? I belong with you. You belong with me. You’re my sweetheart. It gets me, y’all. I’ll also admit that until I just looked up the lyrics I thought it was “I belong with you, you belong with me in my sweet home.” Which made more sense for our situation, but still. The song gets me every time.

Happy Thursday, y’all. I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one day.